Tenants of a Toronto Community Housing building are crying “double standard” after learning another public housing complex has hallway security cameras — something they have spent years begging for.

In June, 200 tenants of 220 Oak St., in the Regent Park area, submitted a petition to the TCHC asking for CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras to be installed on every floor after several murders occurred in the highrise. But Lisa Joan Overholt, the agency’s senior director of community safety, rejected the request, claiming such cameras would “violate certain aspects of privacy legislation” and be a costly investment that “would set a precedent across all communities.”

Oak St. residents now argue the precedent has already been set. They’re demanding answers as to how 291 George St., near Dundas St. E. and Jarvis St., is allowed to have cameras on every floor despite the TCHC’s privacy laws.

“I’m totally dumbfounded and shocked,” said Miguel Avila-Velarde, the Oak St. tenant representative who started the petition. “I’m also offended. It appears they have two sets of policies depending on the building.”

Overholt was not available for comment. TCHC spokeswoman Sara Goldvine said 291 George’s cameras “are in public areas” and therefore “do not violate the CCTV policy,” which states the agency “will not place CCTV cameras anywhere that tenants, employees and the public should reasonably expect privacy,” including “directly in front of a tenant’s door.”

While a Star reporter observed cameras placed directly in front of apartment doors at 291 George, Goldvine said, “I have no reason to believe those cameras violate that policy because of the way they’re angled and so on.”

When asked why 220 Oak could not have similarly angled cameras installed in their hallways too, she replied: “They are very different buildings in terms of the resident profile, the security concerns and physical (structure).”

Councillor Pam McConnell, who originally brought 220 Oak’s petition to city council, argued the cameras wouldn’t violate tenants’ privacy because “hallways are public spaces, like streets.”

“There’s no reason these tenants shouldn’t have the same security as other buildings,” she said. “There’s no cost too costly in terms of peoples’ safety.”

Residents of 291 George said their cameras were installed five years ago after tenants requested funding for them from the TCHC.

Goldvine said installing cameras at 220 Oak would cost an estimated $250,000, which would detract from the TCHC’s mandate to “focus on the state of good repair for our buildings.” The TCHC has spent about $5 million in renovations to the building over the past six years.

“I know they spent lots of money fixing the lobby, but I’m more worried about people fighting in the hallways and trying to open my door at night,” said longtime resident Elizabeth Bluette, who notes tenants have been demanding hallway cameras for over three years. She worries about non-residents loitering in the corridors. “If another community housing building has the cameras, why can’t we have them?”

Tenants of 220 Oak have been rattled by a streak of shootings and murders at the highrise over the years. The building ranked 18th on a recent list by police of the city’s 25 most violent complexes, with 62 calls about violence last year. While 291 George St. is located in one the most crime-ridden areas of the city, it did not make the list.

“This is a crazy street,” said John Podlipski, 59, who lives at 291 George. “But with cameras in the building, I feel a little more comfortable because I know somebody’s watching. It doesn’t violate my privacy at all.”

This month, area Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam will have a “virtual concierge” system installed at 291 George, where attendants will monitor the building’s entrance remotely via a video screen. She feels the $15,000 system will ultimately be a more effective approach to security than “just carpet bombing TCHC buildings with cameras.”

“This will be a two-way interaction,” said Wong-Tam. “Instead of a static image that’s recorded, someone will stop you at the entrance (via the screen) and you’ll know you’re being watched.”

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